H-4 visa children forced to return to India |
H-4 children, the progeny of H-1B visa holders, are facing an uncertain future as they become adults who are no longer considered immediate family relatives, forcing them to return to their birth country. H-1B visas are over whelmingly issued to Indian nationals, who claim about 85 percent of the temporary visas for highly-skilled immigrants issued each year. H-4 visas are issued to the spouse and children under 21 of H-1B visa holders. H-1B visa holders who have worked in the U.S. for more than six years can then apply for a green card for themselves and their dependent children. But once a green card petition is approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it can take anywhere from 70 to 300 years for a highly-skilled Indian immigrant to be granted a green card, noted the organization Skilled Immigrants In America. Currently, more than 1.5 million Indian immigrants, who came to the U.S. on employment-based visas, are stuck in the green card logjam, noted SIIA, adding that highly-skilled immigrants from other countries can get green cards in about seven months. The backlog can be attributed to the country cap mandated by Congress. Indians – the fastest-growing group of immigrants to the U.S. – may face a backlog of up to 82.5 years, noted attorneys Rahul Reddy & Emily Neumann in a blog post.
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